I'm Alive!
by scotchwithasideofass
Summary: The Avengers most recent battle was unlike any other, fighting a monster that seemed to be from myth. It was stronger than the Hulk and struck fear through them. Tony had to save the city, though, even if hope was lost. He was attacked, though, the bite he earned sending something through him. Changing his whole being. Maybe for worse. *please write reviews for feedback*
1. The Beast

**A/N: I know I have to finish the one fic I am writing, but I just had to write this one as well. I got the idea from a song on the Avengers Assemble album, and I just had to put it down. I don't know how long this story will be, I don't know if there will be any pairings, but I hope you enjoy. Oh, and I don't own the characters, MARVEL, or anything.**

Smoke clouded the air, burning the lungs of the Avengers as they stood in the middle of the street in New York City. It had been a while since the last invasion to New York, but this one was unlike any of the others that they have had to deal with before. No, this little catastrophe was more like one of the Hulk's rampages, yet the big, green, rage monster was on the side of good now. Yet, just like those time, all the walls around the Avengers were crumbling, fires spreading through rooms and stores, into the streets and causing small explosions in cars, holes were still being knocked into the street as debris flew everywhere and destroyed everything in its path.

All of this, all of the destruction that was being caused, was because of one monster, a creature only half the size of the Hulk, yet with all the strength of the monster. The appearance of said monster was close to that of a werewolf, something out of folklores and myths, but so real that it was standing right there in front of all of them, roaring and growling as it ripped through the city. It had been a few hours since they began the battle, all of them exhausted to the point where they may not be able to push any further, yet they all kept trying. There was nothing that would make them give up just yet. The safety of the people was at stake, and none of them wanted to risk that.

SHIELD had sent back-up a few times, trying to help the Avengers as they battled against the monster and tried to fight it back, subdue it, or even kill it. But every time a plane or vehicle came into play, the beast directed its attention towards the machine, destroying it in a matter of seconds and nearly killing the people in the vehicle. The lucky ones died. Everything was dying, being destroyed, around them, and their hopes were slipping. The doubt that they could actually do this was infesting all of their minds, even the strongest and more willed of Thor's, and none of them could stop it. However, as the Hulk attacked the beast one more time and was sent flying through the air and across the city, all of them were floored with the realization that this couldn't be done.

Even though this revelation came to each and every one of their minds as they watched the green rage monster fly through the air, Tony kept his ground, flying in the now abused Iron Man suit and heading towards the best. There was a passion for getting this beast out burning in his eyes, driving him to push not only the suit, but himself to the limit.

"Cap, if you don't know what the hell you want us to do, I'm pulling out all the stops in attacking this thing," Tony said as he flew in with the suit, shooting a few miniature missiles to the beast before having to dodge a fairly large chunk of the road hurtling towards him. Letting out a string of curses, as some of the debris had struck him and knocked him in the air a few feet back, he came right back in and fired another round as he waited for Steve to reply to him.

"Stark, no one knows what is going on at the moment. But you are not allowed to put yourself in any more danger than the rest of us have been through with this thing. You saw what it did to Bruce."

"Yeah, I did, and that's why I'm going to attack it with all that I have." With that, and shutting off the com, Tony took a headlong dive towards the best and pulled out all the missiles, rockets, and any armed device he carried in the suit, letting loose on the creature and firing all that he had. The beast seemed to back down and shield itself with its arms as everything came flying at it, a large plume of dust and smoke surrounding around it and blocking it from view. Though Cap was shouting at him over the com and everyone else could hear it, Tony was left in the silence of the halted destruction, watching the smoke gathering before starting to fade. He hovered down closer to the ground to try and get a better view of the creature, wondering, hoping, that the attack he dealt had worked. As he watched, he turned the com back on to tell them the creature might be dead.

Tony didn't expect it to work, though he prayed for such a thing, but he also didn't expect the monster to come flying out of the smoke and towards him, grabbing the suit and dragging Tony down. The vice like grip was crushing the suit, squeezing his body and making it hard to breathe. Tony Stark very rarely got scared, but as he gazed into the blood red gaze of the wolf like creature, he felt fear strike through him and shake his body. The beast let out one more roar before opening its mouth as wide as it could and biting one of Tony's arms that were trying to make it release him.

Never had he felt a pain like this before, not even when he was caught in the explosion that made him have to put the arc reactor in his chest. Not only was it bone crushing, the grip the other's teeth had on him making him scream bloody murder as the pain overwhelmed him, but blood immediately began to seep from the suit, metal digging into his flesh as the creature maimed his arm. If this beast could do that to his arm, who knew what it could do to the rest of his body.

Almost as if on time, though, a SHIELD copter flew in and shot at the beast, making it turn its head and let go of the suit, Tony dropping to the ground with a loud thump and another pained scream. The beast soon took off towards the copter, the machine flying up as high as it could and just barely avoiding the grip. It started to fly away, towards the water where the helicarrier was positioned over, the monster following it all the while.

It was finally over; the monster was headed away from the city and towards captivity. Everyone should have been happy, ecstatic that this was all done with, but the screams of pain that Tony had made were shot through the com, worrying each and every Avenger and having them all scream into the ear pieces to ask where Tony was.

He could hear their voices, just a whisper as he started to fade to the darkness. It was soft, comforting that he could still hear them. Maybe it was his time to go. He was losing too much blood as it was and even if he could be saved, he would be crippled for life. As he continued to fade to unconsciousness, he wondered what it would be like to die, what it would be like as he had been so close to it so many times, only to be pulled back to reality.

Slipping more and more, the suit shut down, the arc reactor started to go dark, and as he fell into the black abyss of his mind, the last thing he felt was something warm spreading through his body, sensitizing every nerve in his body. The last thing he heard was a deep, dark voice, chuckling as a pair of red eyes shone through the darkness and implanted themselves in his subconscious mind.


	2. The Hospital

**A/n: So the chapter before was a bit short, pardon, but I did that in a limited amount of time. And it was to just pretty much show what went on to really get this story going. I hope the rest turns out well.**

The soft sound of machines running, the steady beat of the heart rate monitor, they were the only things that Tony could hear around him as he lay, still knocked out and unaware of what was going on, only now he was in a hospital, hooked up to life support with bandages covering his body and a cast on the arm that was bitten almost clean though. There was so much damage done to his body, so much had happened to him that he was lucky to still be alive at the moment. Lucky was not the word that he would have used, though. If he were lucky, he would have died right then and there instead of having to deal with everything that had happened, the damages done to the city, knowing that none of the Avengers were able to stop the beast that they were fighting, everything was in vain.

What had gone on after he slipped away, though? The last thing he remembered was a sound, something that sounded in his head until he had forgotten what it was, that it wasn't a part of what he was supposed to hear. What was it? These questions kept floating through his mind as he slipped back into unconsciousness, falling into the dark abyss once more and hoping that he never came back. Though he knew he would. He always did. That was the problem with Tony Stark. Even when he wanted to quit, if that was the only thing that he would ever want at any time, he wouldn't. Couldn't. There was always something within him that kept pushing to succeed, kept pushing for him to continue and make everything better no matter what the cost.

And now, here he was. Finally back in the dark abyss. There was supposed to be nothing there, no sound, nothing to see, nothing to feel or touch. But this time, this one time he was falling through, it was different. Instead of there being a black nothing he was falling into, there was a faint, deep red color underneath him, a familiar color that not only mesmerized him, but scared him as well. A voice accompanied that color, sending a warm, shocking, feeling through his body and making him shudder in his mind, his body as still as it had been before in the actual hospital bed.

'_Soon. Very soon, Tony. All will change in a matter of time,' _was all that was said by a deep, familiar voice. It echoed through the nothingness, the sounds pounding in Tony's head as he listened to the words over and over again as he continued to fall down, the red light surrounding him and consuming his entire being.

'What will change?'

_Beep_

There was the sound of the heart rate monitor again. Was Tony climbing back from the abyss already? He had only fallen back just moments ago.

_Beep._

Now he could feel a subtle pain settling in his arms and sides, his eyebrows furrowing together as he winced at the feeling. Pain. That was something that no one ever like waking up to, yet it wasn't foreign to him. How many times had he woken up to feeling pain only for the cause to be something that was far worse than he though?

_Beep._

Now the sound was starting to get annoying. It was the only thing in the room, making it deafening and echo through his head, causing a headache to spring up and pierce at his temples. Tony let out a small groan at the added pain and tried to move a hand to rest at his head, only to find more pain shoot throughout it and make him gasp out.

'_Stark..?'_

"Wha..?" he muttered to himself as he pinched his eyes shut, the light in the room now filtering through his eyelids slightly and making the headache throb more. Why couldn't he just have died? Why did he have to wake up like this again?

"Tony…! He's awake!" The sound was as clear as day now, no muffling, not a whisper. No, it was a shout that echoed through his head more, making him groan against as he raised his other arm, the one currently not shooting pain throughout his whole body, and brought it to his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes to look around, nearly blinded by the bright, white walls and fluorescent lighting of the hospital coming far too quickly into his view.

"Shit, what? Steve..?" he muttered as he looked to the man beside his bed, it being the Super Soldier himself, leaning over him to check and see if he was truly alright.

"Stark, shit, we thought you weren't going to make it," the super soldier said as he smiled slightly and sat back in his seat, only for Thor, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint to file into the room and look to Tony.

"What do you mean 'not gonna make it'?" Tony asked as he looked to all of them and raised an eyebrow, his head throbbing more at the noise and how his eyebrows had furrowed. The lights were hurting his eyes and he was in too much pain for him to think straight. Shit, where was a doctor with pain relievers when he needed them?

"You've been close to death ever since that beast ran after the helicopter to the carrier. If we didn't get you here and get the suit off of you, you would be dead," Bruce explained as he walked in and stood next to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked to Tony and leaned back against the wall. "Even so, I don't think you are going to be able to use your right arm anymore." Tony looked to his arm and saw the cast, frowning to the thing before lying back on the bed.

"Yes, the beast surely tore into your arm. The sight was most gruesome, Man of Iron, and you were foolish to go in alone," Thor added as he stared to Tony, the engineer huffing slightly before waving Thor off with his good hand.

"I don't need you to tell me that, Point Break. As you can plainly see, I am alive."

"But you wouldn't have been if we didn't get there in time." Natasha sighed softly as she said that, used to Tony acting out like that and putting himself in harm's way, but still aggravated with him because he had almost died.

"We're a team. Next time, don't shut off the intercom, got it?" Steve said, Tony turning back to the super soldier as he saw the smile that was on his face disappear and his eyes almost bored into him. Steve may have been the team leader, but Tony hated the way that he looked at him when saying things like that.

"Yeah, we're a team, but I just couldn't stand by as that thing kept running through the city and destroying everything in its path. If I hadn't done something, who knows what would have happened?" Silence followed after what he had said, Tony then nodding to himself before closing his eyes and trying to block everyone out. "That's what I thought. Now can someone go and get the doctor so I can get some painkillers? My arm is killing me and I have a headache that won't go away. If I don't get something soon, I am breaking out of the hospital and going back to the tower, got it?" With that, each one of the Avengers began to leave the hospital room, filing out one by one and telling Tony that they were glad he was alright. Though the man in question could have used a different word altogether.

He wasn't alright, not in the bit. He was in pain, he felt like a failure, he didn't want to be there in the hospital. Hell, he just didn't want to be. Tony thought that it would have been better if he had just died because of the beast. If the beast had crushed him to death and killed him, Tony would have been happy and fine. He would have never had to deal with pain and death ever again. Even if he had gone to hell, that would have been a heaven to him nonetheless. But now, he was stuck back here again. Back in this body. Back in this life, just wishing, waiting for his time to come so that he would be freed. That wouldn't happen for a while though, and he knew that.

There was nothing wrong with hoping for his time to come sooner, though. And as he closed his eyes to try and imagine what it would be like to just be gone, the words that were spoken in his mind before he fell back to unconsciousness a while ago echoed in his head once more.

'_Soon. Very soon. All will change in a matter of time.'_

Even though these words made no sense to him just yet, he was hoping that they were right. That something would change and take him away from this life, let him be free from everything that plagued his mind and ailed him. It was a wonderful though, something that he was praying for now. Oh, how he could only hope and wish for such a thing to happen to him.

_Soon._


	3. The Voice

A few days after the attack on the city and after Tony being admitted to the hospital, the man was finally able to leave and go back to Avenger's Tower, not after getting a few prescriptions for painkillers and exercises for his arm in case that it might heal and he would need physical therapy. Nothing had gone on with his business or with the Avengers while he had been out, meaning that he could go straight to the lab and relax as soon as he got to the tower. That was what he wanted most at this point. Just to go back to where he belonged and lock himself in there so he could deal with everything on his own.

At first, when he was told that he may never be able to use his arm again, he was enraged. With medical science nowadays he should have been fine, were his thoughts. But when the doctors showed him the actual damage to his arm, all of the injured and torn nerves and how shattered the bones were compared to what they should, look like, he was surprised that they didn't have to amputate the appendage when he got in. Tony still refused to accept it, though, that he was crippled like this. He was Iron Man. Nothing like this would ever stop him no matter what.

Yet when he got to the lab, all he could do, all he could push himself to do, was sit there and stare at his projects. Stare at the terribly mangled suit that lay before him, blood dried after a few days along the top layer of metal. It mocked him. Spoke to him and told him that he was still alive and that he was not going to die for a while.

People could have told Tony to drop dead and he wouldn't have minded. Hell, he would have laughed in their faces and told them to have a nice life. There were people that threatened his life and Tony didn't care. Death was never a problem for Tony at all. Living, though, that was something different altogether. Tony had to go all throughout his life in misery, having to do things not only for himself, but for others, and he was always being harassed for it as well. Reporters would tell him about all of the people his weapons have killed, all of the cities he has destroyed. His nickname 'Merchant of Death' was not something that he ever found pride in. He hated it. There was almost always something that kept him from killing himself, someone or something telling him he was worth it. So he would hold off because of them and keep pushing onwards.

But almost every day of his life, those awful days that would make anyone want to lock themselves away in a room and not come out for a week, he was battling for his life, thinking if he deserved it or not, fighting the suicidal urges. It was one of the reasons he threw himself like that into battles so much.

Just to see if he would die.

Now, here he was, left to stare at the thing that protected him. That kept him alive and fighting all that was thrown at him. He loved it and hated it at the same time; wanted to fix it and burn it all the same. Yet he wouldn't do that. He would fix it and he would smile when it was done, when the parts he had improved were finished and the suit was whole once more. Because that was what he was. That was who he was.

'_You could be something different, though.' _ Tony's eyes widened as he heard that familiar voice, spinning around in his chair and trying to search for the source of it. When he turned around, though, he saw nothing there. No one that the voice may have come from. Furrowing his brows together, he turned back to look at the suit, glancing at the arm in a cast and glaring to it.

"I hate you…" he muttered to himself before looking back to the suit and running his good hand through his hair.

'_Don't you want to change?' _the voice spoke to him once again, Tony not even bothering to turn around to see nothing there behind him again. Did he want to change? That was a stupid question. There was nothing else in the world that he wanted more than for him to change. He wanted to be stronger; he wanted to be able to prove that he could protect anyone if he just dove in. He didn't want to feel weak.

'_That's who you are, though. You are weak and you will never be anything else.' _Glaring to the suit as he heard the voice say that to him, Tony shook his head and grumbled to himself.

"Stop it… Who are you to say that?" Tony knew that he was going crazy if he was responding to this voice, if he was talking to himself. But just from hearing it as if it were right next to him, he could consider himself crazy even then.

'_All will be revealed in a matter of time. The change will happen. Just wait.' _

"What change? What are you talking about?" he asked as he stood and looked around the lab, glaring to nothing as he tried to find where the voice was. It couldn't be in his head. It was too real, too much.

'_All will be revealed…' _And with that, the voice faded away and ceased, almost as if it was never there in the first place. Tony continued to look around as if there was some trace of the voice in the air, only to shake his head and sigh softly.

"What the fuck is going on… I'm hearing voices…" Trying to shake it off, he sat back down at the table, resting his head against the cool metal surface. What did the voice mean by 'the change'? What change? What could it have possibly been talking about? "I need sleep," Tony concluded before standing up and heading towards the exit of the lab. There wasn't anything for him to do down there and after hearing that voice, he was convinced he was sleep deprived and needed to get some rest before flying monkeys started attacking him.

Turning the lights off in the lab as he walked out, he felt as if he thought something was staring at him, watching him and waiting for something to happen. If he had turned slowly and looked to the corner of his eye, the one place that no one ever wanted to look, he would have seen a pair of deep red eyes glaring at him, following him. But no, he kept walking on, keep going so he could convince himself that he didn't see anything.

Tony made his way to the elevator and rode his way up to the penthouse floor, the official living room space of Avenger's tower. He needed to grab a drink before he shoved off to bed, finding it easier to sleep if there was a certain amount of alcohol inside of him. As he got to the floor, he stepped out of the elevator and looked around, hoping there wasn't anyone there. However, he was sadly mistaken when he saw Thor and Bruce on the couch, talking about god knows what. Trying to make his entrance quiet and unnoticed, he crept over to the bar, only to jump as he heard a voice call out to him.

"You know, you may be able to fool your comrades, but I could sense the moment you came in," he heard Thor's voice call to him, the engineer turning to look to said man as Bruce turned and looked to Tony as well.

"How come you entered like that? Is something bothering you?" Tony was asked, only for the man to smile slightly and shake his head.

"Nothing wrong at all. Just felt like I had done enough in the lab. I'm gonna grab a drink and head off to bed." He walked behind the bar and started to pour himself a drink before Bruce spoke up again.

"As good a liar you think you are, you really aren't. You shouldn't hold it back i-"

"I said I'm fine," Tony unintentionally snapped to the man, earning both Thor and Bruce to raise their eyebrows to him. Giving up on his drink and cursing to himself, Tony walked from behind the bar and towards the elevator. "Whatever. Forget the drink. I'm going to sleep." Tony almost stormed out of the room and into the elevator, letting out a loud groan as soon as the doors closed. Ordering JARVIS to take him to his floor, Tony closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his good hand, shaking his head a bit.

"I'm fine… Aren't I?" he asked himself before stepping out of the elevator as it reached his floor. He was talking to himself again, but he felt as if he needed to now. He needed to hear another voice so if the one he spoke to before came back, he might be able to block it out. "There's nothing wrong with me at all. I just need to go to sleep. I need to relax and make sure that I am sane and I am healthy. There is nothing wrong." The more he repeated it, though, the more he didn't believe himself. Was everything alright? Probably not. There was a lot wrong with him anyway, this would just add to the list of things that wasn't right. The long, dreaded, list of things that bothered him, pushed him over the edge, and drove him to almost drink himself to death.

Trudging into his room and flopping down on the bed, Tony looked up to the ceiling and sighed softly, covering his eyes with an arm. "What am I doing with myself…?" With that said, he kicked off his jeans, carefully pulled his shirt over his head and over his injured arm, then climbing into bed and under the covers. Flipping to lay on his side, Tony closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, the sound of it being the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.


	4. The First Night

**A/N: I'm going to be drawing these chapters out longer and longer, but I am losing my patience when typing on my laptop because the screen cracked and looking at it aggravates me. **

Falling. Falling at a speed he knew all too well, yet it was still so foreign to him. Plummeting, further and further, the end to this fall never seeming to come to him at all. The black abyss was back, sucking down Tony as he fell deeper into a restless, dreamless sleep. There were very few of these nights where the nightmares didn't slither their way into his mind and corrupt it, sending him into panic attacks as he slept. Those nightmares would cause him to thrash about, lose his breath, and make him wake up in a cold sweat, the memories of the nightmare fading as soon as his eyes opened and he shot up in bed.

This, however, this peacefulness of a dreamless sleep, falling into this black abyss as he laid there in bed and slept away what had happened earlier that day, it was relaxing, peaceful, nothing to disturb him and pull him back from his sleep. It was times like these that he would finally feel like everything was alright. That nothing was wrong and he could just stay like this forever, ignore all of the problems in his life and just exist. Just be there and not have to worry. There was so much to worry about, but these times, these kinds of rest that were oh so rare yet oh so special to Tony, they were the cure. They took away everything and made him void of all those worries. This was what he needed. This is what he wanted his life to be like.

But, alas, that was just when he was asleep and not plagued with those dreaded nightmares he would have almost day in and day out. These were the very few, very rare, nights where could finally rest in his sleep and relax. With all that had happened to him that day, he thought that he wouldn't be able sleep for a long while, thinking that the voice would come back at any time and patronize him, shout at him, threaten him. Though the voice was kind at first and just warned him of a change, Tony could feel there was something behind it. There was more than what met the eye, that was the catch. There was always that catch.

Lying in bed and turning over, Tony fell deeper into his slumber and snored softly, face burying itself in the pillows as he did so. The bed seemed to just absorb all negative energy as he slept, leaving him in a state that was so rare to him, yet very welcomed. This was nice. This was calm. This was what he wanted.

_'But this isn't what you wanted. You wanted to change, didn't you?'_ There was the voice, infiltrating his dreams and making him wince on the outside. That fucking voice that kept calling to him and telling him he wanted to change. It was a no brainer that he wanted that, but being told so many times, having to wait for it like he was. Hell, it was only the first day that he started hearing the voice; it was only just that morning when he was bitten, injured, and nearly dead. Why did he have to deal with this now?

_'There is nothing to deal with other than patience. Just be patient.'_

Because patience was always the first step, wasn't it? Patience had always pulled through with him before, right? Yeah right. All patience did to Tony was kill him, reveal how much longer he had in that time of patience just to live. It was torturous and he hated every passing moment he had to go through just waiting.

In Afghanistan, he had to be patient every single day, he had to wait to see if the terrorists that captured him would kill him that day or the day after. When he had escaped, he had to wait and be patient in the desert just to see if anyone would come after him, either the terrorists that lived to come and kill him, or the American army to come and save him. Either way, the tension was helping in killing him, his heart racing the whole time and forcing the first arc reactor to work overtime in keeping him alive. He had to wait to see if the damn thing was going to give out, not work the way he had built it to. There was so much tugging at his mind and worrying him, driving him insane. It was pure, dumb luck that the army had gotten a hold of him before he could be captured and killed again.

When he was dealing with the Palladium poisoning, all he did was wait, just his blood toxicity, and wait some more. The machine he had created to let him live was also killing him, making the waiting ever more so unbearable. He was ending his life slowly, unable to find out a way to fix it until he was so close to death, it hurt. When he was finally able to fix it, he had to be patient with then taking down Ivan. His patience was slowly running thin over the course of the time, making it harder at every chance he got to have to wait.

'Just tell me what is going to fucking happen now,' Tony thought to himself as he started to draw forth from his sleep, aware that the voice seemed to be outside, in the waking world.

'_Soon. Patience.'_

'I'm getting sick of being patient! Just tell me right now!'

'_The first step is tonight and the rest shall follow…'_ First step? That was something new to hear. What was the first step? What was all of this about?

As he thought that, a warm sensation started to go throughout the arm that was stuck in the cast, making the hairs stand on end and goosebumps dance across the maimed and scarred skin of his arm. It only started out as a warm sensation, spreading and irritating his senses as he winced to himself. This wasn't right. He took a few painkillers after waking up before and could barely feel his arm after that. What was going on?

That was when the pain started to settle in his arm along with the warmth. Minute pinpricks were what he first felt, those little spikes traveling across his skin and making him groan slightly from the pain that was following. As they continued, the muscles became more sensitive, and along with the sensitivity came more pain. A searing one that settled in behind the pinpricks. He groaned a little louder and his good hand went to the cast, grasping at it in an attempt to find a way to rid himself of the pain, though there was nothing he could really do. As he tried to claw into the cast to get rid of the pain that was making its way through his arm, the spikes started to spread, now climbing up his arm and towards his shoulder. It traveled down along his side and danced across the skin, making him groan once more in pain and grab at the skin and claw at it. It wasn't painful to the point to make him scream out, but it was enough to keep the noises coming from his mouth and making him as uncomfortable as he had ever been.

With each claw at his skin, though, the pain only spread further, worsening with each passing second and making him wish that he could tear the skin away and get rid of the pain. It was unbearable. Spreading further and further, across his stomach and making its way up to his chest, Tony continued to grab at the skin, tossing and turning in his bed. In mere seconds, it reached the arc reactor, causing his whole body to flare up in pain and the device to shine more brightly. That last shock of pain caused him to scream out, his eyes widening and tearing up as a sharp spike of pain drove through his chest. His whole body convulsed from the pain and had him thrashing about more, standing from the bed and tumbling to the ground, landing on his chest and making him scream out once more. Without noticing it, the skin around the arc reactor started to tear and cut, reddening the skin with the cuts and blood now seeping from the wounds.

Clawing and trying to make his way to the bathroom that was attached to his room, Tony dug his nails into the carpet, slowly inching towards his destination. The door to the bathroom was so close, yet seemed so far away. And any time he tried to attempt to stand up from where he was, all that happened was his limbs would give out and he would go crashing to the floor again.

The pain continued to climb with each movement of his muscles, each flex and strain in the attempts to try and get to the bathroom, which he now deemed the safe haven for himself. Maybe something in there would stop the pain, maybe something in there would help him. As he made his way towards the room and crawled along the floor, blood continued to seep from the, now gashes, on his chest, trailing on the ground and staining the carpeting. The wounds under the cast had now burst as well and blood soaked the interior of the cast, seeping out the sides and soaking his hand in his own blood. Though his arm had been in the most pain, the pain in his chest had exceeded that by so much more. Pained groans continued to pour from his mouth and echo in the room, though he couldn't hear them at all. All he could hear was a ringing in his ears.

And the voice repeating itself.

_'The first step is tonight… patience… all will change'_

That blasted voice just continued to echo in his head and make his ears ring more. With each word, the pain only increased more, leaving him immobile only seconds later. Curling in a fetal position on the floor, Tony curled into himself and clawed at his head, clenching his teeth as hard as he could and groaning loudly. He daren't scream in pain in fear of causing everyone to rush to his room, though he was on his own floor and his room was soundproofed. But with the pain only climbing, it was becoming harder for him to contain himself.

It finally got to the point where he couldn't handle it anymore and his mind shut down, Tony losing consciousness and falling into the black abyss again, the one he had visited so many times today. As he lay there on the floor, curled up, face contorted in pain, blood continued to seep from his chest and arm. The newly acquired wounds continued to bleed as the old ones soaked the cast, the dark grey color of the cast now darker, redder, more ominous and threatening.

After a few minutes, there was an audible cracking sound, the sound of bones popping together and healing, that echoed through the room, replacing Tony's cries of pain now that he was unconscious on the floor. The cracking happened a few more times until it finally ceased, silence filling the room once more. Looking back down on Tony's body, his back arched and all of his muscles clenched, face contorting in pain as he seemed to try and push something off of him with his chest. His breathing became labored and a few small grunts escaped his lips, a few soft, dull, clicks falling to the ground underneath the unconscious man.

The pain finally started to fade, slowly but surely retreating back into his own body. His chest had ceased hurting, the gashes surrounding the arc reactor now healing themselves, the skin merging together and closing up without the need for any scabbing. Under the blood soaked cast's surface, the wounds along his arm healed, the bones under the muscles repairing themselves and leaving no sign of fracture or break. Right near Tony's chest, laying on the ground as the blood from the objects soaked into the carpet, lay the shrapnel that had been embedded in his chest from what seemed so long ago.


	5. Small Changes

**A/N: Sorry I keep updating so far apart. Writing this stuff is harder than I think and when I finally am able to get what I want out, it doesn't come as quickly as I want it. But, anyway, I think this chapter came out fairly well. I hope you all like this story so far so please review it at the end. I love knowing what people think of it.**

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At moments such as what had happened, the blood curdling shouts that filled the Stark bedroom as Tony experienced a pain that was unrivaled to anything he had felt in his life before, Jarvis would notify the other Avengers that slept in the tower. The AI would have sent an alert out, telling the other's that something had happened to Anthony. But no such thing had happened. There was a presence there in the room, blocking out whatever noises he had made and replacing it with a deathly silence, one that followed sleep yet was so rarely heard with the engineer. The presence had stayed off to the side, a disembodied being that watched, smiled, gleaming white teeth showing in the darkness as its eyes glowed blood red. Perhaps it wasn't really there. If Tony were to look at security footage, nothing would show on the tapes, but the presence was still there, still watching over the man that lay curled on the floor and smiling, waiting for the events to unfold.

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There was always some type of falling sensation when he was in the dark, familiar black abyss of his mind, either slipping into a sleep or back into unconsciousness. Those awful times he would feel that would he actually feel as if he was leaving this world, falling away into nothingness. This time was different, however. Instead of falling or plummeting into the dark black abyss, Tony was being pulled up, dragged by the collar of his shirt as he was being forced back to the surface of reality. So he could break the waters of his subconscious mind and finally gather himself once again to face the cold, bitter air that came from the living world.

Gasping sharply as he awoke from his sleep, Tony's eyes snapped open, looking frantically around the room as his eyes started to adjust so he could see his surroundings. Everything was a blur, nothing had a definite shape as he looked around. It was strange, but he was used to waking up like this when he had a hangover in the morning. However, he could specifically remember that he had not gotten anything to drink last night as he had stormed from the living area of the tower and to his own floor, away from the judging gazes that were from his friends on the team.

He tried to sit up from where he was, only to feel a numbing sensation in his chest. Tony let out a soft groan and looked down to it, the arc reactor working perfectly well as it shone. At least nothing happened to that during the night. Anything could have happened if he had ended up on the ground almost five feet from his bed- Wait, how did he get onto the floor? His head spun slightly as his eyes darted to the bed, having to close them so he wouldn't be sick.

What had happened to him? The engineer could specifically remember that he had gone up to get a drink from the bar, only to find Bruce and Thor in the living room. He had turned on his heels and headed to his room to try and sleep away the thoughts that plagued his mind, telling him he was weak and that what happened shouldn't have, but once he made it to the door, his memory cut and he couldn't seem to remember what had happened next. Trying to think now, though, was giving him a headache, his eyes pinching shut as he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a coppery taste in his mouth that only made everything worse, causing the man to stand from his position on the floor.

He stood with shaky legs and went as slowly as possible, having to steady himself for a moment's time before he started to walk. Baby steps. That was what he needed to take before he was able to make it into the confines of the bathroom. Once he was there, the engineer ran a hand through his hair, resting his side along the door frame as he groaned.

"Fuck, what happened...?" he mumbled to himself as he walked in, resting his hands on the sink as he bowed his head down and took a few deep breaths. If he didn't calm down and slow his pace even just a bit, he would be dry heaving into next week. Albeit, from drinking so often, anyone would think that he'd be used to it by now, but he wasn't. He would never get used to it and that was the ugly, bare-faced truth that he always had to face whenever he awoke. But waking up from a night of being completely, and regrettably, sober? This was just uncalled for and one of the more awful surprises that he always seemed to get.

Another few deep breaths and Tony was able to lift his head up, mentally preparing himself to look in the mirror and see what he needed to. If there was any damage that he had done to himself, he needed to make sure that he could stomach it, but there was nothing that could prepare him for what he saw. It was a shock, really, and if he could smile without feeling the pull of his facial muscles and his eyebrows lift only to aggravate his headache, then he would. But for now, he would just have to stare, completely dumbfounded at the face that stared back at him.

It was his face, no doubt about it, but there was so much that was different to it. He seemed younger than what his actual age was. The worry lines that had made homes for themselves along his features seemed to have faded and softened, leaving him a younger, healthier look than he had once had. The crow's feet along his eyes were gone, the bags under his eyes that he would carry around, with or without sleep, had disappeared. It was as if he had gone back to his younger years, looking to be the twenty five year old man that he had once known himself to be. Along with all of this, the cast was still on his arm, but it felt better than it had the day before. No pain, he could move his fingers comfortably, miracles were hard to come by, but Tony knew one when he saw one.

Slowly, cautiously, raising his hands up to feel along the worry and age lines that had once plagued along his face, Tony ran his fingers gently along the skin, finding it as smooth as it was in his younger age. His beard was neatly trimmed, almost out of place with along his face as he had remembered only having a mustache at that age. Everything was new yet old, so strange and yet so familiar it scared him. While he was examining his facial features, a strike of fear shot through him and he checked his chest for any damage to the arc reactor, his hand going to the top as it whirred and shone underneath his fingers. Still locked into place, the metal the same warmth of his body and just a bit more with how the magnet was working and keeping him alive. Sighing a breath of relief, Tony hung his head a bit, running a hand through his hair, as soft and smooth yet still unruly and lovable as it had been when he was young, only longer as he kept it. He needed to go to Bruce, needed to find out if this was just in his mind or if there was something going on.

Whatever it was, though, it didn't have to be all that bad. If it was making him younger and healthier, who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? So far, there was nothing there that could mortally wound or affect him, so there was no reason to panic. Not yet, at least. The first step for all of this, though, was to go to Bruce. That was the first and foremost thing that needed to happen within the next few hours.

Tony covered the cast and grabbed a quick shower, examining more of his body just to see if it was only his face that had de-aged, or if it were to be anything else. If he could be as spry and exuberant as he was when he was the age he looked, than that would be a big plus as well. But, so far, everything was just for looks. Not that it mattered. It would draw more publicity, and in his mind, there was never such a thing as bad publicity. All of it was good, all of it made his 'numbers' go up and put him all over the news. This would have to call for a celebration later.

He stepped out and got dressed in a black guinea tee, sweatpants, and started his way down to Bruce's workshop. A few minutes later and he was standing at the doorway, punching in the code that Bruce had set up and entering. As he entered, the doctor turned his head and looked towards Tony, a small smile slipping across his face as he saw the engineer.

"You seem happy. The painkillers working well?" Bruce said, his usually small and calm voice carrying in the lab as it always seemed to.

"Working like a beaut. I feel like a billion bucks. Course, that may just be my net worth." The two scientists shared a small laugh as Tony headed over to the lab table, sitting across from Bruce at it. "Say, does anything else seem more different about me today?" the engineer asked as he looked to the other, the doctor raising a brow before fixing his glasses slightly on his nose, eyes roaming across the man's features to see what he meant.

"You look a bit younger. Feeling that good, huh? Thought you would go straight to your lab and lock yourself in for god knows how long." The smile slipped back to Bruce's features as he said this, Tony sharing the smile before laughing and running the fingers of the hand that wasn't in the cast through his hair.

"Don't get your hopes up there. I'll be back in the lab soon enough. Just decided to stop by." 'Needed to see if how I look wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me.' "I'll be heading down there now, actually. Stop on down there whenever you want, Doc," Tony said, standing back up and nodding to the other slightly. Bruce returned it before going back to his work, Tony turning and exiting the lab to go to his own workshop. The smile stayed on the engineer's face as he walked down to the lab, knowing that he hadn't felt like this in a long while. And because of that, it only made his work even sweeter.

As soon as Tony left the lab, though, Bruce had felt a small chill going up his spine, making him shudder and look around. Something was in there, and the other guy was picking up on it, but he couldn't see, hear, or smell anything else that would give away a presence. Turning back to his work, Bruce knew that he was going to be on high alert for a long while. But he needed to continue with what he was doing, not get too worked up. Out of his line of sight, though, out of reach for the man to even perceive, the glowing red eyes had moved from a dark corner in the room, following in the shadows and after Tony. Close distances, nothing to stop the disembodied figure, it would continue this way as the changes continued to unfold into something unimaginable.


End file.
